Mantis announces winners of Adopt a School Garden program

Mantis and the National Gardening Association (NGA) are pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Mantis Adopt a School Garden Program. Funded by a generous grant from Southampton, PA, based Mantis, 10 schools in the Greater Philadelphia Tri-State area will receive technical assistance, horticultural and garden education consultation, a $600 ASG Kit and a Mantis Tiller/Cultivator or Mantis ComposT-Twin Composter to help lay the foundation for their garden program. “This award will help teachers and children to engage in a successful plant-based educational program and create a hands-on learning environment that teaches, among other things, subjects on sustainability, nutrition, composting, and more,” says Mike Metallo, President of NGA.


“The disparity between the public’s attitude toward school gardening programs and its awareness of existing programs is startling,” states Metallo. “It signals that NGA has a lot of work to do to raise public awareness of the benefits of school gardens. With help from companies like Mantis, we’ve created the ASG program to bridge the gap between schools needing funding for their school garden program and those companies having the resources and the desire to support schools and communities with gardening programs. It also illustrates the opportunity all of us have to help gardens become hands-on teaching tools and living laboratories at every school in the country.”


Applications were received from elementary, middle, and high schools located throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware. Preference was given to programs focusing on nutrition and sustainability.  Winning schools of the 2009 Mantis Adopt a School Garden Program are as follows:


1)            Cherry Hill School in River Edge, NJ


2)            Archbishop Damiano School in Westville Grove, NJ


3)            Culbertson Elementary School in Newtown Square, PA


4)            Olney High School – West, 704 in Philadelphia, PA


5)            Kensington Culinary Arts High School in Philadelphia, PA


6)            Sarah Starkweather Elementary in West Chester, PA


7)            Abraham Lincoln Elementary in Levittown, PA


8)            Wissahickon Charter School in Philadelphia, PA


9)            East Side Charter School in Wilmington, DE


10)         Forest Oak Elementary in Newark, DE


“Horticultural science feeds the curiosity in all of us,” states Linda Beattie, Donations Coordinator at Mantis. “Through a school gardening program, students will learn how flowers grow and where fruits and vegetables come from, but in reality these are valuable lessons in our ecosystem, the environment, our climate, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and much, much more. Gardening feeds the mind, body, and spirit unlike any other subject of study and we are excited to team up with the National Gardening Association in introducing these integral life-cycle lessons to students across the tri-state area.”


Mantis representatives will visit each winning school to award ASG grant equipment and help educators and students launch their 2009 garden programs.


About MantisÒ

For more than 25 years Mantis has made gardening easier with its famous tiller/cultivators, dual-chamber composter, and many other gardener-friendly tools. Mantis products are available direct from the factory, through mail-order, and through more than 3,500 equipment dealerships nationwide. To learn more about Mantis and its family of gardening and yard care products, visit the Mantis website at www.mantis.com or call Mantis toll-free at 800-366-6268.


About the Adopt a School Garden® Program


The National Gardening Association’s flagship Adopt a School Garden program bridges the gap between schools lacking resources and people who have the ability to help. School garden programs boost achievement, cultivate life skills, contribute to healthy lifestyles, and connect kids with nature through hands-on learning. To learn more, visit http://assoc.garden.org/ag/asg/.

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